Author to read memoir of faith

Keva Horry, the former wife of Crimson Tide basketball star Robert Horry, will visit Tuscaloosa on Wednesday to launch her memoir about her late daughter's battle with a rare chromosomal abnormality.

By Ken RobertsCity Editor

Keva Horry, the former wife of Crimson Tide basketball star Robert Horry, will visit Tuscaloosa on Wednesday to launch her memoir about her late daughter's battle with a rare chromosomal abnormality.“I was raised to be a woman of great faith,” said Keva Horry, a Knoxville, Tenn., native who was raised in Tuscaloosa and graduated from the University of Alabama, in a news release. “I now know what that really means: It means that, to develop great faith, great adversity must be overcome in a way that makes faith look attractive to people who think faith is synonymous with wishing or luck. It's not,” she said. “While relying on my faith is first-nature for me, the reality of living in faith takes stubborn, determined grit.”Keva Horry will read from and sign copies of her memoir from 5-8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Alumni Hall adjacent to the Bryant Conference Center, 240 Paul W. Bryant Drive. Keva Horry's daughter, Ashlyn Ishan Horry, was born on April 2, 1994, while her father was playing for the NBA's Houston Rockets. Ashlyn had severe respiratory issues and other complications that required a six-month stay in Texas Children's Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. She was later diagnosed with 1p36 deletion syndrome, a genetic condition that is caused by missing part of chromosome number 1.Ashlyn had seizures, multiple surgeries, delayed motor skills, severe physical and cognitive disabilities and had to undergo physical, occupational and speech therapy in her 17-year life. She died on June 14, 2011.But her fighting spirit inspired the Horrys to start the Ashlyn Horry Foundation to support parents of special-needs children and raise awareness and funding for the treatment of 1p36 Deletion Syndrome.Keva Horry's book, “Glamorous Sacrifice: Life ... in the Shadow of Championships,” tells the story of her family's struggles.“ ‘Glamorous Sacrifice' is my personal example of what putting faith into practical action looks like, and the truth that our circumstances — even the most unthinkable ones — do not exempt us from God's mandate to trust Him,” Keva Horry said.Keva Horry on Tuesday will also give a keynote address at Nurses' Week on the University of Alabama at Birmingham campus.“We are honored and excited to feature Keva as the 2013 UAB Nurses' Week keynote speaker,” said Karen Harris, a nurse manager at UAB Hospital. “Her wealth of experience working with nurses will be invaluably educational for every nurse in attendance who has excellent service as a primary goal.”